As a founder member of Mystery Women in 1997, promoting Crime Fiction has always been my passion.
Following the closure of Mystery Women, a new group was formed on 30th January 2012 promoting crime fiction.
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Monday, 13 June 2016

‘Wicked Game’ by Matt Johnson

Published by Orenda Books, 31 March 2016. ISBN
978-910633-41-0

Robert Finlay has an
interesting past. But as an ex member of the SAS who served in Northern Ireland
during a very troubled period, and who participated in the siege at the Iranian
Embassy, it is a past that he has done his best to hide from everyone.
And that includes his wife, Jenny and his current employer, The Metropolitan
Police Force. The special ROSE unit in MI5 has helped Finlay. ROSE, which
stands for the Rehabilitation of Service Expertise,
buries the pasts of military personnel who are still at risk from terrorists or
enemy Security Services.

Happily married with a
two-year old daughter whom he adores, Finlay is about to start a new phase in
life as a uniformed Inspector at Stoke Newington Police station. Then the
trouble starts. An ex army man who
is now a mercenary is blown up by a car bomb in India. A policeman is
targeted and killed near Selfridges by a bomb left on a motorcycle.
Another policeman is shot dead on the driveway to his home. This suggests that
whoever is doing the killing regards the families of policemen as legitimate
targets. Finlay is worried. He knows that the policemen who have been killed
are all ex SAS, and from the same regiment as himself.

In an extraordinary move, his
old army boss, Monaghan, who is now with MI5, persuades Finlay and a friend of
his, a former SAS sergeant called Kevin who is now a policeman, that they are
both targets. He tells them that the only way they will ever be allowed
to live freely again is if they find and eliminate whoever is behind the
killings. Is it the IRA, the Iranians, or another unknown entity? Monaghan
helps the two men with some of their more hair-raising exploits as they pursue their
horrible quest.

Wicked game is an absolutely
brilliant new thriller. The writing is so authentic that you forget this is a
story. It feels as though it is real life that is being described as Matt
Johnson navigates the intricate hierarchies and rivalries of the police, the
army and the Security forces with consummate ease. The plot is fast-paced,
twisted and exciting. Finlay is a man who is prepared to break all the
rules to protect his family, but he is also a very human and likable person.
I can’t praise Matt Johnson and Wicket Game too highly.

----

Reviewer Angela Crowther

Matt Johnson served as a soldier and Metropolitan Police officer
for twenty-five years. Blown off his feet at the London Baltic Exchange bombing
in 1993,he was one of the first police
officers on the scene of the 1982 Regent’s Park bombing. Matt was also at the
Libyan People’s Bureau shooting in 1984 where he escorted his mortally wounded
friend and colleague, Yvonne Fletcher, to hospital. Hidden wounds took their
toll. In 1999, Matt was discharged from the police with Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder. Whilst undergoing treatment, he was encouraged by his counsellor to
write about his career and his experience of murders, shootings and terrorism.
One evening, Matt sat at his computer and started to weave these notes into a
work of fiction that he described as having a tremendously cathartic effect on
his own condition. He has used his detailed knowledge and memory to create a
fast paced, exciting and authentic tale of modern day policing. Matt Johnson is
living proof that PTSD is a condition that can be controlled and overcome with
the right help and support. He has been described by many fans as an
inspiration to fellow sufferers.

Angela Crowtheris a retired
scientist. She has published many scientific papers but, as yet, no crime
fiction. In her spare time Angela belongs to a Handbell Ringing group,
goes country dancing and enjoys listening to music, particularly the operas of
Verdi and Wagner.

About Me

From an early age I have been a lover of crime fiction. Discovering like minded people at my first crime conference at St Hilda’s Oxford in 1997, I was delighted when asked to join a new group for the promotion of female crime writers. In 1998 I took over the running of the group, which I did for the next thirteen years.
During that time I organised countless events promoting crime writers and in particular new writers. But apart from the sheer joy of reading, ‘I actually love books, not just the writing, the plot or the characters, but the sheer joy of holding a book has never abated for me. The greatest gift of my life has been the ability to read'.